In-bone implantable shaft for prosthetic joints or for direct skeletal attachment of external limb prostheses and method of its installation

Abstract

An in-bone implantable shaft for prosthetic joints or for direct skeletal attachment of external limb prostheses, comprised of a central body fitted in the zone of the bone's medullary cavity conventionally prepared for implantation, and of side elements attached to the central body and fitted in the slots specially made in the bone's walls surrounding said medullary canal; said side elements have spaces between them, arranged to be filled by bone cells to provide a natural and safe osseolocking of the shaft. A method of preparing the bone for implantation of a prosthetic shaft, comprising the steps of: placing a cylindrical guide with slots made in the longitudinal direction of said guide inside said bone's canal which is conventionally prepared for implantation; cutting said bone's walls by progressing a saw along the edges of the slots of said guide; removing the guide; fitting the shaft in the bone's canal, provided that the side elements are fitted to the slots in the bone's walls.

1 . An implantable shaft for prosthetic joints or for direct skeletal attachment of external limb prostheses, comprised of a central body fitted in the bone's medullary cavity conventionally prepared for implantation, and of side elements attached to the central body and fitted in the slots specially made in the bone's walls surrounding said medullary canal; said side elements have spaces between them. 
     
     
         2 . An implantable shaft for prosthetic joints or for direct skeletal attachment of external limb prostheses described in  claim 1 , wherein the side elements are lined along the longitudinal direction of said bone. 
     
     
         3 . The side elements described in  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of said elements approximates the width of the slots and may slightly exceed said width. 
     
     
         4 . The side elements described in  claim 1 , wherein the width of each said element approximates the thickness of the bone's wall such that after installation, said elements do not extend beyond the outer circumference of said bone. 
     
     
         5 . A method of preparing the bone for implantation of a prosthetic shaft, consisting of: placing a cylindrical guide with slots made in the longitudinal direction of said guide inside said bone's canal which is conventionally prepared for implantation; cutting said bone's walls by progressing a saw along the edges of the slots of said guide; removing the guide; fitting the shaft described in  claim 1  in the bone's canal, provided that the side elements described in  claim 1  are fitted to said slots in the bone's walls.